Ukrainian mob seeks revenge for rape victim

Ukrainian mafia leaders have formed an alliance to take retribution on three high-profile men accused of raping, attempting to strangle and burning a young woman alive in the Ukrainian town of Nikolayev, daily Hürriyet reported. The leaders reportedly ordered their contacts in every prison in Ukraine to “take care” of the three men and do make them “worse than [the victim]” in revenge for their alleged attack on Oxana Makar. Makar, 18, remains in critical condition. Her parents, meanwhile, have been attempting to remind the public of her suffering; her mother recently uploaded a video that shows the girl struggling in pain to form the words “I want to live.”

The three suspects were initially released after the crime due to “lack of evidence” before Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych personally ordered their arrest following a national outcry. Two of the suspects are sons of Ukrainian officials. Maxim Prisyjnikov, 23, is the son of the regional administrator while Artyon Pogosyan, 21, is the son of the regional prosecutor. The third suspect is the pair’s friend, 23-year-old Yevgeniy Krasnoshek.